The Toad's Burrow

      Another year has come and gone, and that means another season of Rick and Morty  has come and past. Yes, I would say it feels like this show is past it's prime, but come on, I've been watching since I was like 12 would I really ever stop watching this show? I mean how do you even top what they finished up last season in Rick Prime and Evil Morty mostly having their storylines tied up? Surprisingly, some good character focused-episodes that I didn't really mind.      A complaint I saw this season was that despite being half of the title of this show there wasn't that much Morty, and honestly, the complaints are right. But what if, I just don't care. The reason for this is simple, Morty is never allowed to age, and it's just really difficult to do too much and tinker with his character without ruining the dynamics in his family. Rick's name being first in the show really feels important, because this season it felt like the showrunners put a much b...

      If you were like me, and you had to guess what a war movie about killing Nazi's starring Brad Pitt would be about, you would think that it's a long film character focused film about camaraderie, about a group of 10 men fighting for what's right, striking fear into the hearts of Nazi's across Europe. Except, you're entirely wrong. What you get is a film that is still bloody and violent, but not as action packed as you would think, hardly any character focus, and one that takes full advantage of it's length. It was a good film no doubt, but I'm just not sure what to make of this Tarantino film in the slightest. So let's talk about it.     First of all, let's talk about what I think the film does right. There are regular scenes, and then there are the scenes in this movie. Whether it be the very first scene in the movie, or the scene where everyone is in the bar, these long, drawn out scenes just work. Tarantino does a great job of not only buildi...

      I still love this show, I do. But it's hard to watch this and not groan a little saying "oh brother," especially to Zoey, the new character added to this season, which I have no appetite for watching appear on my screen. That being said, I am surprised that six season later and I'm not too worried about this show getting stale. It's quality has stayed surprisingly consistent, and I have never quite found myself in any sort of malaise where I feel like I'm just trying to get to the end. I mean I am but it's because I enjoy this show too much. So let's talk about it.     This new season had a couple new additions to the mix, first of all, Ted's teaching profession is basically put on the back burner as they once again pick up on his dream of designing a building for the New York skyline. I didn't mind this part to be honest, they didn't really do too much with his whole teaching thing. But what I did mind was Zoey. Do I hate the lovers ...

      Something something, I enjoy post-hardcore music but have never heard of this band in my life. I'd say my post-hardcore days are behind me but that's just because I listened to unhealthy amounts of Dance Gavin Dance as a teenager. I mean I did just finish listening to Bring Me The Horizon's discography earlier this year, and I do like Alexisonfire. Even still, the reason I stayed away from albums like this as a teenager, beside the screaming, was the edgy album covers. A part of me still held shame about what album covers I listened to in public. Too bad that shame no longer exists. So without further ado, my track-by-track review. Bone Palace Ballet: Grand Coda - Chiodos Two Birds Stoned At Once - 75/100 After a relisten I may have to recognize that I was too harsh on this song. It's a pretty decent intro track. Nothing to write home about though to be honest, I mostly blame the fact that the song isn't catchy enough to mask both the generic lyrics or the fin...

      I'm not sure what to do with this movie. It's not to say that I didn't enjoy it, or that I didn't think it got some things very right with the whole Fantastic Four dynamic, it's just also at the same time, it's hard for me to escape the Marvel doomerism, comparing it to Superman , or just my general comic book optimism. I wouldn't say I had a clear vision for this movie either, I understand that it's supposed to be retro futuristic. I also acknowledge their universe is also probably not long for this world either. Either way, I'd argue this is one of the more difficult movies I've had to rank recently, so let's talk about it.     Let's talk casting. I'll be honest, coming into this I was the most skeptical of Joseph Quinn as the Human Torch. I wasn't sure if he'd have the aloofness, or the flamboyance that I'd want from a Johnny. Not someone whose completely reckless, but someone whose best strength is their stubborn...

      Yes, I know I swear I wrote the review to season four of this show like less than four days ago, so yes I am going to (in vain) try and slow down my consumption of this show just a bit before I end up watching everything before this month even ends. Even still, I did finish this show, and out of fear that I'll end up halfway through season six of this show before this review is even written, here it is. I wouldn't say it's the sharpest season, but I'd say it certainly explores some decent storylines, and at the very least tries out new things which is admirable to me.     Of course, as a Barney lover it is impossible for me to talk about this season without mentioning the dreaded, and weird Barney x Robin relationship. I'm very glad the show basically threw it out after six episodes, I mean a part of me knew that was bound to happen, but another part of me never really saw or understood it. Robin is consistently disgusted by Barney's sexual escapades, but ...

      I shall be the first to admit that I am a whore for Bethesda Game Studios games. I have way too many hours in both the Fallout  and Elder Scrolls  series by them. So the real question is, how much did I enjoy this game? The truth is less than I should have, and there's a couple reasons for that. Honestly, the short answer is if I hadn't already played this game I would have enjoyed it more, but I already did, and that's ok. I doubt this game would have been as successful if it wasn't already squeezing nostalgia out of any gamer who had their childhood defined by this game. I suppose the main issue was I was not one of those kids, so I have absolutely no nostalgia about this game.     Don't get me wrong, I liked Oblivion  when I first played it, but that was in like 2021, and honestly I've always been a Skyrim  man through and through. I suppose I would have enjoyed it more if the game was an actual remake compared to a remaster, though ...

      How does a sitcom stay this consistent? How I Met Your Mother  is very steadily and easily rising up my top 10 shows list without even trying it's ridiculous. Of course, there were two major changes to this season, well technically three but the last one can be ignored. Basically, Ted proposed to Stella and they came together, and they're continuing the road of Barney x Robin. Respectfully, I didn't like any of those changes, but also thankfully this show is scared to commit to anything too serious (until maybe now?) so we'll see what happens. So, let's talk about it.     This time around I would say that the show did a pretty good job of actually wrapping up (kind of), the two storylines they introduced. I mean of course I knew that Stella was not long for this world, not because I know there's nine seasons but she simply never had enough screen time to really feel like she justified a much longer stay. And lo and behold, the woman who couldn't commi...

      Where do I even start with this album? It is rare for me to say an album needs no introduction, even from me who loves making these personal little notes on how I was introduced to artists/albums. The issue with this album is that there's simply nothing personal here. That is how much of a cultural phenomenon Michael Jackson has been in my life. I don't remember a time when he wasn't famous, and he's remained so iconic that there's never been a time I didn't know this album cover, or heard the singles off of this album. I don't even know when I first heard the singles to this song, it's like I've just always known them, and that's rare. It actually took me quite a while to get around to listening to this album in full though, since I listened to it about last year. In my defense, I already knew half of the songs on this album and well it's 9 songs long so it's not like it was a particularly long nor arduous listen. Either way, my fr...

      Now, don't get me wrong, I still love this show, and finished season three significantly faster than I thought, but I'm started to sense something that may cause this show to stagnate. And no, it isn't the glut of guest celebrity appearances, which honestly I don't mind, because it's not like they play themselves anyways. No, it's the fact that this show is a bit afraid of some change, and what change it does introduce I'm not fully convinced it's weird. Now, don't get me wrong, season four could prove me wrong, but I just don't really agree with the direction this show seems to be trying to nudge itself in.     Let's start off with this fear of change, or at least what I perceive it to be. Look, I understand that Lily and Marshall are married, and that you can't really rock that dynamic too much. After all, they are "the couple" of the friend group, and frankly I think the show was worse off when those two weren't tog...

      Some things are just so perfect that you can't help yourself and you go through it as fast as you can because that's how good it is. That's how I felt watching Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. still one of my favourite anime's of all time, it's not overrated in the slightest in my opinion, and is worth every drop of hype to me. So, when I started reading manga again, I knew I had to revisit it. After all, I had heard the anime was incredibly faithful, so why not see if there's anything I don't remember.     And by God, I forgot how good this story was. It's almost unfair really that this manga is only like 105 chapters. It makes me so jealous that the author was able to create something so well-written, so concisely. I mean easily the best example of this would be the whole alchemical system. It's never quite explained fully in depth, and you don't get to see that many alchemists, but you just get it. From the first time you see them expla...

     Look, I get it. I'm so in right now. I love How I Met Your Mother  now. I don't know if I'd call it one of my favourite shows of all time. But it's so good I just love all of the characters. I think this season built off of the last one, and might have been better to be honest. Really, the only complaint that one might have is they play around way too much with this whole relationship stuff. I don't think my review of this season will be long, just that I need to make sure I appreciate how well done it is while it lasts.     I wouldn't call this season Lily and Marshall centric, not that I really think it's a bad thing. But it picks up right where season 1 ended, with them broken up, Lily gone for a while and Robin and Ted starting a blossoming relationship. I suppose my main issue with this is, how long did people think this was going to really last. I'm not saying they were forced to return to status quo, but it's hard to see how the show func...

    Yes, I did go impulsively watch Superman  with my sister after seeing everyone talk about it online. And no, I don't regret it for one second. This movie has to juggle with being so many things at once, and it achieves at pretty much every one of those goals as well as you can in a two hour runtime, it's seriously impressive. Now, it's by no means perfect, but I think in this current state of superhero movies, it's exactly what the genre needed, and I think James Gunn has set the DCU up perfectly to steal the crown from marvel. Basically any and all fears about the film have been assuaged for me, and I just can't understate how fantastic this film is, and how hard I'm rooting for it to succeed.      First of all, let's start with Big Blue himself, because I think this is the perfect characterization of Superman, or pretty close to what it could/should be. He's idealistic, he is the embodiment of hope. He's a little naive, but that's perfect. ...

      Like most people who probably remember this band, I found out about them listening to Semi-Charmed Life . Except it was a cover by my favourite high school band Dance Gavin Dance , and I quickly realized the original sounded significantly better. Afterwards, my knowledge of the band stayed mostly dormant for a decent chunk of my teenage years, I never really felt the desire to listen to the rest of the album, but then one day I put it on for a spin. Honestly, it was fine, but to young me, it became much too slow and much too long after Graduate , so I simply stopped remembering the album past track five.      Eventually though, once I reached university, and I began to broaden my music horizons slowly but surely, I'd find myself coming back to this album every summer, remembering the amazing start, the fantastic songs, and then one day it just clicked. It's like I was taking a nice walk on a sunny afternoon and the rest of this album unlocked for me. ...

     Well, there it is. I have finally found a semi-long sitcom with 20-minute episodes for me to start watching again, and I have to admit, I did not expect to like this show that much. The premise is simple, you've seen this a thousand times before, there's Ted, the likeable but not too likable main character, Robin his love interest, Lily and Marshall, the classic stableish couple, and Barney, the dashing rogue. I didn't think much of the first episode when I watched it, but slowly and surely, as I continued to watch more, to decide whether or not I was going to continue, I started to get hooked. There's just this charm to the characters and this light-heartedness that I look for in sitcoms. Sometimes, I just don't want to watch some epic drama that has hour long episodes that require as much attention as I can provide. Sometimes, I just want comfort, and to me that is How I Met Your Mother .     I think it's important to start with the characters, because a ...

      Once again I'm not going to lie and say these days I remember Lil Wayne for being bad. Maybe he was good at a time but to be honest I remember him for two awful Weezer collaborations, and one bad blink-182 collaboration. So when my friend Slayer suggested this album I came in with a feeling I wouldn't like it. Even still, I'll try to keep an open mind since I technically know 2 and a half songs from this album so without further ado, my track-by-track review. Tha Carter III - Lil Wayne 3 Peat - 33.3/100 Look, I don't actually think the beat to this song is bad, just dated. I just don't enjoy Lil Wayne's delivery at all in any capacity, it's just so ridiculous and hearing him rap about everything from viagra to Hitler is certainly an experience.  Mr. Carter - 75/100 You know what I actually enjoy the chorus to this song which means there's a 70% chance I'll actually enjoy this song and tolerate Lil Wayne's rapping, which says a lot about how...